A Conceptual Analysis of Resolution

The literature in geographic information science and related fields contains a variety of definitions and understandings for the term resolution. The goal of this paper is to discuss them and to provide a framework that makes at least some of these different senses compatible. The ultimate goal of our work is an ontological account of resolution. In a first stage, resolution and related notions are examined along the phenomenon, sampling and analysis dimensions. In a second stage, it is suggested that a basic distinction should be drawn between definitions of resolution, proxy measures for resolution, and notions related to resolution but different from it. It is illustrated how this distinction helps to reconcile several notions of resolution in the literature.